The Married At First Sight Australia “nude photo scandal” shocked viewers on Wednesday night, with many left questioning if what happened to Domenica Calarco legally counts as “revenge porn” – also known as “image based abuse” – in Australia.
WATCH: Domenica blindsided by MAFS co-stars
In light of the episode, a viewer named Pete Joyce launched a Change.org petition in support of Domenica.
The petition is titled: “The E-Safety Commissioner To Commence Action Against Olivia Frazer For Image-Based Abuse.”
Currently sitting at 80K+ signatures, the petition calls for “the E-Safety commissioner to immediately take action against Olivia Frazer, in order to make it clear this kind of abuse is not acceptable, especially on a nationally syndicated television program in which both the victim and the perpetrator have taken part.”
The legal definition of “image based abuse” in Australia is “the distribution of intimate images or videos of individuals without their consent.” You can read more about revenge porn laws and the OnlyFans terms of service here in our breakdown.
As the petition has gained such significant traction, Joyce revealed the E-Safety Commissioner’s Office reached out to him on Twitter and advised they “can only investigate matters reported by the person affected or their nominated representative.”
In saying that, Domenica has confirmed in an interview with WHO that she is looking into the matter and is grateful for concern and support from fans.
“The laws have just recently changed in NSW last year, and you would know that, and I can say that I have consulted legal advice and that’s all I can say about that right now,” she revealed.
“But [what happened] is very infuriating. Because I know there are women out there who’ve had it way harder than me and had it ruin their careers or relationships and it’s brought up a lot of trauma for many women – because I’ve seen the messages and read the messages and I feel for these people.
“Yes, it happened to me on a global stage in front of literally the world, but if I can be that person that stands up for this and can make something of this, I will. Because it will be for the women who haven’t been strong enough, who have messaged me. I’ve honestly been bawling my eyes out over the messages.”
In an interview with Nova’s Fitzy & Wippa, Olivia said she hadn’t seen anything wrong with her actions at the time.
“It was a drunken thing the night before we went to home stays,” she explained. “The photo popped up on my phone, I was with a group of people and I did the wrong thing. My judgement was very, very poor.”
“I definitely didn’t see what was wrong with it until recently because I just thought like, it’s on the internet, it was advertised on several platforms, so I didn’t think it was some salacious secret,” she said.
“I definitely didn’t think that it was some sort of revenge or leverage that I had over Domenica. I literally just thought like, ‘Oh good on her making some extra cash, that’s fantastic’.”
Speaking with WHO, Domenica hit back at Olivia’s comments on Nova.
“Actually I just want to make this clear. She’s said now today that it happened in a room where they were drinking and that doesn’t excuse it at all,” the contestant tells us.
“And the fact that they were all together drinking and this played out off camera, they also need to wear that because we’re not actually allowed to do that. And that’s for this reason right now, because they’ve allowed this to happen off camera behind people’s backs and so I still to this day don’t know anything.
“It’s not clear at all. One person says they were sent it, one person says they were shown it, and then there’s one person saying the same two things, they’re changing the story. Like what is wrong with you? Just get the story clear. You know what I mean? It’s so contradictory, it’s mind-blowing.”
With co-stars including Jackson Lonie and Cody Bromley “defending” Olivia’s behaviour – and others like Ella Ding and Jack Millar standing up for Domenica – it’s clear the situation is far from over as she re-lives the experience watching the show.
“It was just as emotional and highly charged as the day that it happened,” Domenica tells WHO of watching the episode.
“I don’t even know what’s real as we stand, because we still to this day don’t know who had it on their phone, what was seen and said, where it happened, we don’t even know the full story because people still to this day won’t own up and admit it. It’s disgraceful,” she continues.
“If anything I want to make it known in society and being on the platform that is MAFS, I can actually put this issue on the map and make a statement.”
Married At First Sight Australia airs Monday to Wednesday, 7:30pm, and Sunday, 7pm, on Nine Network and 9Now.
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